Rainbow Embroidered Cuff/Bracelet

I have been thinking about making a leather cuff for a while now and when I found myself looking online for rainbow pride bracelets I realised that I already had what I needed to create a pride rainbow embroidered leather cuff.
Since my embroidery skills are.... minimal, I thought I could do a kind of basic cross stitch. Obviously you can customise to your hearts content - have silver thread and don't like rainbow? Go for it! Have a random strip of leftover felt, try it out! Whatever works!

Strip of leather/faux leather/Kraft tex (even felt or maybe webbing if you have a way of stopping the ends fraying). You can really use anything that is not going to fray that you like the look of - that dated ugly handbag you never liked could be repurposed. I had some leather and Kraft tex so that's what I used.
My strip started at about 1" by 8" but take into account the wrist size of the person who you are making it for and the amount of extra needed for a closure and remember you can cut it down more easily than you can make it longer.

Embroidery thread (or yarn, even very fine wire I guess) and an appropriate needle. Ideally you want a blunt needle so you don't mark your leather when you are aiming for the holes.

A closure - I am a bit obsessed with stud buttons, but you could use a button, a snap, jewellery findings or even just use the leather itself - there will be ideas a-plenty on Pinterest if you decide to go that route.

In terms of tools you will need cutting, measuring and straight edge tools. A quilting ruler and a rotary cutter work well, with some very sharp scissors to make the ends nice. If you have leatherworking tools there are strap cutters and end chisel things that I'm sure you could make use of.
You will also need something to make holes in the leather (I have a stitching iron but a biggish nail will be fine, you could also use a tailors awl)
Whatever closure you decide to use may require it's own tools (hole punch or snap setter, or a blade to cut a buttonhole).
I also ended up using some adhesive (like fray check) because I was worried about my knots.

I used one strip of Kaft Tex and one strip of leather, approximately 1" by 8" (2.5cm by 20cm). You want the strip to go around the wrist with enough room for your chosen closure.
I gave the edges of leather cuff the very lightest of sanding with some fine grit sandpaper. You could use a nailfile or forgo it entirely. If you are using thick veg tanned leather you will get a better result if you use some wax and a slicker, but that is outside of scope for this project.
I decided that black cuffs would show of the rainbow best and I had some black leather colour so I made both of my cuffs black according to the direction on the dye.

Self explanatory really. I wanted a rainbow and cross stitch seemed like a good idea. This is where 'you do you' with colours and patterns.

Once I had messed around enough I went for it and punched holes. I have a pokey thing that is designed for hammering sewing holes into leather, called a stitching iron, but I have used an old fork and even a nail for similar projects in the past and they also give adequate results.

If you are marking hole-points on your cuff remember to do it on the inside!

Stitching in multiple colours is a bit of a pain because there is lots of tying knots and hoping they hold. As I was looking and worrying I decided that an adhesive would make me feel a lot happier. I neatened everything up, did lots of knots and applied fray check, with shoe adhesive ready if I think it needs it (shoe adhesive is sometimes used by leatherworkers. It is relatively cheap and easily obtainable. It is flexible and bonds.well to leather).

I used perle #8 embroidery cotton because that's what I had. On reflection it is possible that a polyester thread may wear better. We will see.

I curled them into the rough size I wanted (I used a metal bangle that's a bit big for me) and left the glue to dry. Remember not to use pins on leather/faux leather/Kraft tex etc because holes are permanent.

I wanted a button stud, I have some at hand, so that's what I used. There are countless options and I'm not here to tell you how to live your life, but I will go through some pros and cons.

Press stud: these can look really polished if you have the ones that have the covers on the 'wrong' sides, but they require special tools to install. They also don't leave options for multi sizes.
You could sew a button on and cut a slit in the leather and with the right button that could look cute, but I think there is a risk of the finished product looking less polished.
Jewellery findings, like magnetic closures, toggles, s hooks etc could look great, if you have them to hand.
There are other things that could work, like cutting slots in the leather and fitting it together. When done well these look very stylish but I worry that in my hands it might just be a mess.

Whatever type of closure you choose just be sure to measure carefully, and make any necessary marks on the reverse of the bracelet.

To install my studs I needed to punch a hole, feed the tiny screw from the reverse to the front and screw the stud part on. I need to punch a neat hole at the other end of the strap, and maybe cut a little slit so the stud goes through and the leather hole doesn't stretch.

To get them to sit nice and round on your wrist you just need to wear them a bit. You could also give them a light spray of water and leave the clips on them (I needed to do this on the Kraft Tex - it didn't feel like it was going to sit right otherwise).



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Wear it and make one for a friend! Adapt the idea to suit the materials you have at home, use scraps from other projects or reuse or repurpose bits and pieces (I am about to make another one by cutting slits and weaving rainbow ribbon through, and just gluing it at the end)